Unfinished Business: Heroic Quests and the Poetics of Interruption in Bacchylides – Kathryn Caliva (St. Bonaventure)
Department of Classical & Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Event Details
Date
Thursday, November 5, 2026
Time
5:30-7 p.m.
Location
Description
Both Bacchylides 5 and 17 introduce heroic quests only to abandon their expected trajectories. Despite differences in genre, occasion, and commission, each ode establishes anticipation around a familiar hero and quest before interrupting the action and leaving it unfinished. These narrative disruptions shift focus from heroic achievement to characterization, enhancing the rhetorical force of the mythic exemplum and showcasing Bacchylides’ skill in adapting myth to diverse poetic and performance.
Cost
Free and Open to the Public
Contact
Accessibility
We value inclusion and access for all participants and are pleased to provide reasonable accommodations for this event. Please email atlangendorf@wisc.edu to make a disability-related accommodation request. Reasonable effort will be made to support your request.